Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar in Forbes list of world’s highest paid celebrities

Bollywood king Khan Shah Rukh Khan emerged in Forbes list of world’s highest paid celebrities of 2016.

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar also featured in the annual list by Forbes, which is topped by American singer Taylor Swift with an earning of USD 170 million.

Shah Rukh, fondly known as SRK, was at 86th rank with USD 33 million earnings, while Akshay was at 94th spot with USD 31.5 million earnings.

Forbes said SRK continued to rule Bollywood's box office with lead roles in hit films and also earns multimillion dollars upfront fees and a cut of the back end for his efforts.

"He also cashes in on endorsement deals for dozens of brands most Americans have likely never heard of," Forbes said.

Akshay, 48, however slipped in ranks this year from 76th in 2015, Forbes said adding that he is one of Bollywood's busiest leading men and banked top rupee for three hit films.

"The action star bolsters his earnings endorsing a wider range of products than most Hollywood shills including motorcycles and gold loan company."

English-Irish boy band One Direction has claimed the second spot on the list with earnings of USD 110 million.

The list also includes author James Patterson on the 3rd spot followed by Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (4), basketball player LeBron James (11) and musician Madonna (12).

Forbes said the world's 100 highest-paid celebrities pulled in USD 5.1 billion pre-tax during the June 2015-2016 scoring period.

In order to form the Celebrity 100, FORBES evaluates front-of-the-camera talent across the entire entertainment world idols from Hollywood to Bollywood appear alongside Swedish soccer stars and American basketball players.

One third of this year's honorees hail from outside the US.

Forbes notes that while there is a plenty of geographical diversity on the list, the Celeb 100 underscores the chronic pay gap in the entertainment world since there are only 15 women on the list, down from 16 of last year.

The list includes British singer Adele on the number nine with USD 80.5 million earnings. Chinese actor Jackie Chan ranks 21 on the list with USD 61 million earnings and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen ranks 99th on the list.

Hollywood comedian Kevin Hart ranks sixth followed by actor Dwayne Johnson on the 19th spot, reality TV show star Kim Kardashian on the 43rd spot and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence on the 50th spot.